Growing Key Accounts: Case Study #2

The Issue

Our contact was recently made senior relationship manager and had just taken over an account that the company had for 25 years. Two days after she took over, she was informed that they lost the account – a large multinational company in the tourism industry. Because our client provides financial investment services, it accrues its profits year over year. Losing this account would be tantamount to losing a large account every year for 25 years. That's not the way our contact wanted to start her tenure in a new position.

The Solution

Coincidentally, this senior relationship manager and others from her company were about to begin training in Miller Heiman's Large Account Management Process (LAMP®). The timing couldn't have been better. After her LAMP® training, she and her team were able to define precisely what it would mean to both parties to have a working relationship and how each would benefit.

They made a Charter Statement (an important output of LAMP® training) that listed their goals and outlined a strategic plan. One of the biggest problems they uncovered was that in their prior relationship, no one had met with their account's top decision-makers. Their account also disclosed that they didn't feel that they were being treated with the kind of importance they deserved. They were a large account responsible for a large percentage of income, yet they were being treated the same as any other client. During her meeting with the account, the senior relationship manager showed the Charter Statement.

The Result

The account team expressed that they had never been shown such a statement before from anyone. They liked the approach and our client was able to retain them. LAMP® has helped our client crystallize their goals and the Charter Statements have given them something they can wrap their arms around. Our client's vice president for relationship management said that LAMP® training is now a requirement for all 15 relationship managers.

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